Political View: The incredible work of people power

We learned a few things, the first surprise for a few activists will be that Paul Bristow’s address is Wansford, Peterborough! Paul has spent months telling people that he is a resident of the outskirts of Peterborough, but sadly the Labour candidate Anna Smith decided to go off with her own idea of where Paul lives.

Gladly, voters can now see the truth and it’s interesting that Anna has made most of her leaflet about where Paul supposedly lives rather than on policy, but for her own address it’s simply logged as ‘address in Cambridgeshire’.

We also learned that there will be a Reform candidate. Of course, all candidates will attract votes as is the democratic choice of this election, but voters should be aware that every vote has an effect, and it may not be the effect you want.

A vote for another candidate could still give you Anna as the next combined authority mayor. Therefore, it’s vital that you make your vote count and make the right choice.

Paul is someone we all know and see active in Peterborough, and whether you argue you want to see him or not, you can’t get away from him with his relentless approach to working for our city, which is even more reason to support Paul.

Let’s elect a combined authority mayor who will give Peterborough the focus and attention it deserves.

A stark reminder of the importance of this election was the appearance of Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves in Peterborough.

I’m not sure how anyone can celebrate this visit. Winter fuel allowance cut, businesses hammered with a backdoor national insurance increase, water bills up, energy bills up, council tax up, car tax charges up, TV licence cost up, household goods continuing to go up.

So far, this looks like ‘austerity 2’ for most residents and businesses. Is anyone feeling better off?

And after attacking the most vulnerable in our society with welfare cuts, is this the right time for our Chancellor to come and celebrate with placards in Peterborough?

It shows there is a major disconnect in national politics with what goes on locally, reinforcing the significance of the combined authority elections.

Locally, I was able to visit the longest yarn exhibition at Peterborough Cathedral. Another incredible exhibition in our city, and this one was particularly moving and poignant.

There is more to come, and while details are a bit ‘woolly’ we can’t wait to see what’s in store in their next announcement for summer.

We are delighted to see the cathedral achieve its target of £300,000 in the cathedral in crisis campaign.

A fantastic amount raised and thank you to everyone in the city, residents, organisations and businesses who donated.

It shows what can be achieved when everyone comes together, and we urge the continued support of our beloved cathedral.

We also saw people power in the incredible work done during the great British spring clean: 660 bags of litter, over 300 volunteers, and 30 clean-ups across the city.

Look out for Peterborough Litter Wombles’ plans for October.

I was honoured to be kept as chair for the council’s financial sustainability working group and that cross-political engagement in the group will continue.

The Conservative group are happy to contribute, and this is a vital area where we need to put down politics and work together for the city.